June 1776 in the American Revolutionary War

Timeline

June 1 — General John Sullivan superseded General John Thomas at Saint Johns, Quebec, as commander of American forces in Canada. He brought 3,300 men and was further strengthened by a brigade of Pennsylvania troops led by General William Thompson. Sullivan briefly entertained a second siege of Quebec City.

AHC Notes

• John Thomas (1724–1776) — Thomas was an officer in the Massachusetts Militia and the Continental Army during the first year of the American Revolutionary War. Thomas is most well-known for securing Dorchester Heights in Boston, forcing the British to evacuate the city in 1776.
• John Sullivan (1740–1795) — Sullivan was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He fought in many key battles during the war and also served as a member of the Continental Congress as a delegate from New Hampshire.
• William Thompson (1736–1781) — Thompson was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He led troops in Boston, New York, and Canada, and is most famous for being the first to hold the rank of Colonel in the United States Army.

June 1 — Battle of Round Mountain

Polk County, North Carolina — Captain Edward Hampton and his brother, Captain Preston Hampton, were sent to meet with Cherokee leaders to discuss a peace agreement. Upon arrival, the Hamptons were seized and taken as prisoners. Soon after, the brothers escaped and returned home.

Cherokee leaders traveled to the Hamptons’ home, and Preston Hampton sent his children to warn the neighbors. Meanwhile, Anthony Preston, father of Edward and Preston, exited the house to speak with the Cherokees. As he shook the hand of the chief, Big Warrior, another Cherokee shot Preston in the chest. Preston fell to the ground, and Big Warrior struck him in the head with his tomahawk. The Cherokees also killed Anthony’s wife and their infant son.

Local militia gathered at Bock House on the Pacolet River, where they chose 16-year-old Thomas Howard to lead them. They were led by Skyuka, an Cherokee boy, to Round Mountain, where Big Chief and the others had made their camp.

On the night of June 1, some of Howard’s men made a camp at the base of Round Mountain. They lit fires and pretended to be celebrating, which was meant to distract the Cherokees.

Meanwhile, Howard led the rest of the men, surrounded the Cherokee camp, and launched a surprise attack. They routed the Cherokee, killing most of them.

AHC Notes

• This engagement is also known as the “Battle of Howard’s Gap,” in honor of Thomas Howard.

June 2 — General John Thomas died from smallpox at Chambly, Quebec.

June 4 — General Charles Lee arrived at Charleston and succeeded Colonel William Moultrie of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment as commander of the local garrison. However, Moultrie remained in command of Fort Sullivan on Sullivan’s Island, Charleston Harbor. This fort was constructed with two walls of palmetto logs separated by 16 feet of beach sand, mounted 31 cannons, and had a garrison of 420 men.

AHC Notes

• Charles Lee (1732–1782) — Lee was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He helped defend Charleston during the American victory at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island but fell out of favor with George Washington. Lee was critical of Washington, tried to help the British win the war, and was then relieved of command during the Battle of Monmouth.
• William Moultrie (1730–1805) — Moultrie was an officer in the South Carolina Militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He led men to victory in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and the Battle of Beaufort. After the war, he was elected Governor of South Carolina twice.

June 6 — General John Sullivan ordered General William Thompson and 2,000 men on an expedition down the St. Lawrence River to Trois-Rivières (Three Rivers) to capture a fort located roughly halfway between Montreal and Quebec, along with its garrison of 800 men. Colonel Anthony Wayne, Colonel William Irvine, Colonel Arthur St. Clair, and Colonel William Maxwell accompanied Sullivan. The men used small boats to sneak up on the British.

• Anthony Wayne (1745–1796) — Wayne was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and led men in many key battles of the war, including a victory at the Battle of Stony Point. After the war, he was given command of the Legion of the United States and won the Battle of Fallen Timbers. He negotiated the Treaty of Greenville, which helped open the frontier for expansion.
• William Irvine (1741–1804) — Irvine was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He led troops in Canada, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and then commanded the Western Department from Fort Pitt. He is remembered for his command at Fort Pitt, which included the Gnadenhutten Massacre and Crawford’s Defeat.
• Arthur St. Clair (1737–1818) — St. Clair was a General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with Washington during the New York-New Jersey Campaign but was criticized for surrendering Fort Ticonderoga. He went on to serve in the Confederation Congress and served a term as President before becoming the first Governor of the Northwest Territory.
• William Maxwell (1733–1796) — Maxwell was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He led troops in Canada, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. He is most famous as the first commanding officer of the Continental Army’s light infantry corps, known as “Maxwell’s Brigade.”

June 7 — Capture of the Privateer, Yankee Hero

A correspondent gives the following account of the capture of the American privateer Yankee Hero: — 

Captain James Privateer Tracy sailed from Newburyport, in New Hampshire, on the seventh of June, in the Yankee Hero, for Boston, with twenty-six men only, including officers. This number was not a quarter of his complement; he was provisioned for a six months’ cruise, and was to take in the remainder of his men at Boston. 

The afternoon he went out, going round Cape Ann, he observed a sail in the offing, but in his situation did not think of looking after her. Two boats full, manned with their muskets, who had put out after the sail, came on board and informed him a number of transports had been close into the Cape that day, and fourteen men from the two boats joined him, and sent their boats on shore. He had now forty hands in the whole (only a third of his complement), and with these he put away for the sail, which bore E.S.E., about five leagues distance, the wind being then westerly. 

At six miles distance, they perceived her to be a ship, and soon, from her management, to be a ship-of-war. As a contest with her must have been very unequal. Captain Tracy, who intended to make a harbor that night, ordered the brig to be put about for the shore, not then suspecting that the ship would come up with him. But he had not tacked ten minutes before the westerly wind died away, and the ship, taking a fresh southerly breeze, came fast in, endeavoring to cut the brig off from the shore.

After some time, the ship thus getting in the wake of the brig, the wind again came fresh to the westward, upon which the brig hauled to the wind in the best angle for the shore. The ship gave chase, and in an hour came up within half a mile, and began to fire her bow chasers, which the brig only answered with a swivel. Captain Tracy reserving his whole fire until the ship, keeping a constant fire, came up within pistol shot upon his lee quarter, when the brig gave her the best return they could make from their main and quarter deck guns, swivels, and small arms, and after kept up a constant fire.

The ship was soon up alongside, and with twelve nine-pounders on a side, upon one deck, besides forecastle and quarter deck guns, and with her marines overlooking the brig as high as her leading blocks, kept up a continual fire. 

After some time, the ship hauled her wind so close (which obliged the brig to do the same) that Captain Tracy was unable to sight his lee guns. Upon this, he backed under her stern, but the ship, which sailed much faster and worked as quick, had the advantage, and brought her broadside again upon him, which he could not evade. 

In this manner they lay, not a hundred feet from each other, yawing to and fro, for an hour and twenty minutes, the privateer’s men valiantly maintaining their quarters against such a superior force. 

About this time, the ship’s foremast guns beginning to slack fire. Captain Tracy tacked under her stern, and when clear of the smoke and fire, perceived his rigging to be most shockingly cut, yards flying about without braces, some of his principal sails shot to rags, and half his men, to appearance, dying and wounded.

Mr. Main, his first lieutenant, was among the first wounded, and Mr. Davis, one of the prize masters, fell in the last attack. In this situation, they went to work to refit the rigging and to carry the wounded below, the ship having then taken a broad sheer some way off, and none of her guns bearing. 

But before they could get their yards to rights, which they zealously tried for in hopes still to get clear of the ship, as they were now nearer in shore, or to part from her under the night, she again came up and renewed the attack, which obliged Captain Tracy to have recourse to his guns again, though he still kept some hands aloft to his rigging; but before the brig had again fired two broadsides, Captain Tracy received a wound in his right thigh, and in a few minutes he could not stand. He laid himself over the arm chest and barricade, determined to keep up the fire; but in a short time, from pain and loss of blood, he was unable to command, growing faint, and they helped him below. As soon as he came to, he found his firing had ceased, and his people round him wounded, and, not having a surgeon with them, in a most distressed situation, most of them groaning and some expiring.

Struck severely with such a spectacle. Captain Tracy ordered his people to take him up in a chair upon the quarter deck, and resolved again to attack the ship, which was all this time keeping up her fire. But after getting into the air, he was again so faint that he was for some time unable to speak, and finding no alternative, but they must be taken or sunk, for the sake of the brave men that remained, he ordered them to strike to the ship.

Thus was this action maintained upwards of two hours, in a low single-decked vessel, with not half the metal the ship had, against an English frigate, whose navy has been the dread of nations, and by a quarter the number of people in the one as in the other; yet the victors exulted as though they had overcome a force as much superior as this was inferior to them. The brig had four men killed and thirteen wounded, including officers. The number in the Milford wounded is not known, though there were some. The deprivation of these brave officers and men is to be regretted by all friends to this country.

With justice to Captain Burr, of the Milford, it must be acknowledged he treated with humanity and politeness the officers and men that were wounded; but to the eternal disgrace of Britain, and the present King and Parliament, let it be recorded, that in this very action above related, upwards of thirty Americans, prisoners in the Milford, were forced, at the forfeit of their lives, to fight against their coixntrymen; and the officers and men of the Yankee Hero, that were not wounded, are now detained in several of their ships, and may meet with the same cruel fate; an exaction that even savages have not been known to require. It is to the credit of the Hero’s men that not one would enter upon the ship’s books, though not only urged by every persuasion, but by threats. — Essex Journal (August 9, 1776).

June 7 — Lee Resolution Introduced

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Virginian Richard Henry Lee, at the instruction of the Virginia Convention, presented the “Lee Resolution” to Congress. It called for independence, the creation of foreign alliances, and the creation of an American Confederation. John Adams seconded Lee’s resolution, but Congress tabled the discussion for an additional day.

AHC Notes

• Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794) — Lee was a Virginia planter and leading Patriot who served in the House of Burgesses, helped organize resistance during the Stamp Act crisis, and promoted Committees of Correspondence. In the Continental Congress, he pushed for independence and foreign alliances, then later signed the Declaration of Independence. Initially opposed to the Constitution, he supported it after the Federalists agreed to add a Bill of Rights.

June 7 — British Forces Arrive at Charleston Harbor

Charleston, South Carolina — After being unable to land at Wilmington, North Carolina, the British naval expedition under Commodore Peter Parker and General Henry Clinton appeared off Charleston, South Carolina, and crossed the sandbar into the harbor. British troops disembarked to scout the area.

AHC Notes

• Peter Parker (1721–1811) — Parker was a British Admiral who served in the British Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Appointed Commodore in October 1775, he escorted Charles Cornwallis’s transports to America and later worked with Henry Clinton in the attack on Sullivan’s Island on June 28, 1776. He also supported British operations at New York and Rhode Island, commanded the Jamaica Station, backed expeditions to Honduras and Nicaragua, received a baronetcy in 1783, and later rose to Admiral of the Fleet.
• Henry Clinton (1730–1795) — Clinton was a British soldier and General during the American Revolutionary War. He was placed in command of British forces in 1778. Despite early success, he was unable to defeat American forces, which led to the Surrender at Yorktown in October 1781.

June 7 — Battle of Newburyport

Newburyport, Massachusetts — The 12-gun American privateer Yankee Hero was defeated by the frigate HMS Melford under Captain John Burr after a two-hour battle.

June 8–9 — Battle of Three Rivers

Three Rivers, Quebec— A force of 2,000 Americans under General William Thompson landed near Three Rivers and advanced overland in the dark. En route, the Americans were betrayed by their Canadian guide and led into a deep swamp, delaying their advance for several hours. They were spotted by the British vessel HMS Martin and fired upon, which alerted the garrison. 

Unknown to Thompson, several thousand newly arrived British regulars under General John Burgoyne occupied the town. Colonel Anthony Wayne’s column made first contact with the British and initially forced them back, but British reinforcements drove the Americans off. Worse, a detachment of light infantry under General Simon Fraser arrived by boat and landed in the American rear, encircling them. Thompson’s entire command fled into the swamp and retreated in confusion.

On June 9, the British pursued Thompson back to where he originally landed. When the Americans arrived, they found their boats had deserted them. Thompson surrendered while Anthony Wayne fought his way through the British and returned to Sorel with 1,100 men. The operation was a disaster for the Americans, who lost 40 killed and 236 prisoners. British casualties amounted to eight killed and nine wounded.

AHC Notes

• Simon Fraser (1729–1777) — Fraser led British forces during the Saratoga Campaign of 1777. He played a key role in several battles before he was mortally wounded during the Second Battle of Saratoga.

June 9 — Arnold Abandons Montreal

Montreal, Quebec — General Benedict Arnold abandoned Montreal and marched 300 men to Saint John. Before he left Montreal, he stripped the shipyard of tools and timber and sent everything to Fort Ticonderoga.

AHC Notes

• Benedict Arnold (1741–1801) — Arnold was an officer who rose to prominence for his bold leadership in battles such as Quebec, Valcour Island, and Saratoga. Despite his military talent, Arnold was driven by personal grievances and ambition that put him at odds with many of his contemporaries. Feeling slighted by the Patriot Cause, Arnold famously committed treason in 1780 when he tried to turn West Point over to the British. After the plot was discovered, Arnold defected, received a commission in the British Army, and led raids in Connecticut and Virginia. Following the war, he moved to England, where he struggled as a merchant.

June 9 — British Troops Land on Long Island in Charleston Harbor

Charleston, South Carolina — General Henry Clinton landed his ground forces at Long Island, in Charleston Harbor, across from Sullivan’s Island. American forces at Sullivan’s Island and Haddrell’s Point watched the operation. Clinton intended to have his men march across the Breach Inlet to attack the American positions.

June 10 — Covert Support from Spain

King Charles III of Spain secretly offered to supply the United States with arms and supplies and handed over one million Livres to the shell company of Roderigue, Hortalez et Cie.

AHC Notes

• Roderigue Hortalez & Company — A commercial trading firm organized by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais in 1776 to secretly supply military aid from France to the American Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Operating with funds from the French and Spanish governments, the company shipped weapons, artillery, ammunition, clothing, and other supplies to American forces. Although presented as a private business venture, the firm functioned as a cover for covert French support. Its activities became controversial due to disputes within the Continental Congress over whether the aid was a loan, commercial transaction, or gift.

June 10 — The Question of Independence

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — The Continental Congress, at the urging of more conservative members, postponed further debates on independence until July. However, the members continued to discuss the matter outside of congressional meetings, as did the public. This article appeared in the Philadelphia Evening Post the next day, June 11:

“To-day, the grand question of Independency was proposed to the first, second, fourth, and fifth battalions of associators of Philadelphia and suburbs, consisting of about two thousand officers and men. Against it, in the first battalions, four officers and twenty three privates — second, two privates — fourth and fifth unanimous for independence.

The lieutenant of the third battalion, refusing to put the question, gave great umbrage to the men, one of whom replied to him in a genteel, spirited manner.

‘How our delegates in Congress may act,’ says a Pennsylvanian, ‘we know not, though we have a right to know, and intend to promote an inquiry for that purpose.’ 

— Take heed, Tories; you are at your last gasp! You have had many warnings and many kind invitations.’

June 11 — Committee of Five (Declaration of Independence)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — The Continental Congress appointed a Committee of Five consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman to explore drafting a Declaration of Independence. Two more committees were then appointed to explore a confederation scheme of governance and a plan to negotiate treaties with foreign powers.

AHC Notes

• Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) — Jefferson is a Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and the 3rd President of the United States. His career included service as governor of Virginia, Secretary of State, and Minister to France. He advanced ideas about religious freedom, territorial expansion through the Louisiana Purchase, and public education with the founding of the University of Virginia.
• John Adams (1735–1826) — A prominent Boston lawyer, Adams played a key role in the Patriot Cause in the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War. As a member of the Continental Congress, he supported the Continental Association and signed the Declaration of Independence. Following the war, he was America’s First Ambassador to the Court of St. James and the Second President of the United States. He was also the first Vice President, serving two terms under George Washington.
• Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) — Franklin was a writer, printer, civic leader, statesman, diplomat, scientist, and inventor. Born in Boston, he became a prominent printer and newspaper owner in Philadelphia, published Poor Richard’s Almanac, and helped found important civic institutions. He supported colonial union, opposed British taxes, assisted in drafting the Declaration of Independence, secured French support during the American Revolution, helped conclude the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783, and served in the Constitutional Convention.
• Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813) — Known as “The Chancellor,” Livingston is a Founding Father and served on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He also helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase.
• Roger Sherman (1721–1793) — Sherman was a delegate from Connecticut to the Continental Congress, Confederation Congress, and Constitutional Convention. He served on the Committee of Five that produced the Declaration of Independence. Later, he helped develop the Great Compromise, which set up the bicameral legislature of the Federal Government.

June 11 — Hancock Petitions the Militia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — John Hancock sent a letter to the leaders of the Patriot Cause, asking them to call up the militia to help support the Continental Army:

Gentlemen: — The Congress have this day received advice, and are fully convinced, that it is the design of General Howe to make an attack upon the City of New York, as soon as possible. The attack, they have reason to believe, will be made within ten days.

I am, therefore, most earnestly to request, by order of Congress, to call forth your militia, as requested in my letter of the 4th instant, and to forward them with all despatch to the City of New York; and that you direct that they march in companies, or any other way that will hasten their arrival there.

The important day is at hand that will not only decide the fate of the City of New York, but in all probability of the whole Province. On such an occasion, there is no necessity to use arguments with Americans. Their feelings, I well know, will prompt them to their duty, and the sacredness of the cause will urge them to the field.

The greatest exertions of vigor and expedition are requisite to prevent our enemies from getting possession of that town. I must, therefore, again most earnestly request you, in the name and by the authority of Congress, to send forward the militia, agreeable to the requisition of Congress, and that you will do it with all the despatch which the infinite importance of the cause demands.

I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient humble servant,

John Hancock, President

June 12 — Committee of Thirteen (Articles of Confederation)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — John Dickinson was appointed to chair a congressional Committee of Thirteen tasked with drafting a plan for governance under the Articles of Confederation, assisted by one delegate from each colony. The foreign treaty committee consisted of Dickinson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, and Robert Morris. Congress also resolved to establish a five-member Board of War and Ordnance to function as a war office.

AHC Notes

• John Dickinson (1732–1808) — Dickinson was a conservative Patriot leader who gained fame as the “penman of the revolution” for writing Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania (1768), which opposed British taxation. Although he voted against the Declaration of Independence, he later served in the American Revolutionary War, helped draft the U.S. Constitution, and advocated for a strong national government. He also founded Dickinson College and played a key role in shaping early American political thought.
• Benjamin Harrison (1726–1791) — Harrison was a Virginia politician who rose to prominence during the American Revolution. Although he signed the Declaration of Independence, making him a Founding Father, he is likely better known as the father of one President, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandfather of another, Benjamin Harrison.
• Robert Morris (1734–1806) — Morris was a leading financier of the American Revolution who used his commercial skill and personal credit to supply the Continental Army, secure foreign loans, and stabilize wartime finances. As Superintendent of Finance, he worked to restore public credit, created the Bank of North America, and promoted a stronger national government. He later served in the United States Senate, but failed land speculation investments led to bankruptcy and imprisonment.

June 12 — Nantasket Expedition

Boston, Massachusetts — Yesterday, the inhabitants of the town of Boston were made acquainted, by beat of drum, that an expedition was to be undertaken against the enemy’s ships in Nantasket road, and for erecting proper fortifications in the lower harbor. 

Accordingly detachments from the colonial regiments, commanded by the Colonels Marshall and Whitney, and the battalion of train, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Crafts, were embarked on board boats at the long wharf, together with cannon, ammunition, provision, intrenching tools, and every necessary implement, and sailed for Pettick’s Island and Hull, where they were joined by some continental troops, and seacoast companies, so as to make near six hundred men at each place.

A like number of the militia, from the towns in the vicinity of Boston harbor, with a detachment from the train, and some field-pieces, took post at Moon Island, Hoff’s Neck, and Point Alderton. 

At the same time, a detachment from the continental army, under the command of Colonel Whitcomb, with two eighteen-pounders, one thirteen-inch mortar, with the necessary apparatus, intrenching tools, &c., were embarked for Long Island to take post there.

The troops, delayed by a calm, did not arrive at their several places of destination till near daylight this morning. Notwithstanding this, however, such was their activity and alertness that they had the cannon planted and a line of defense hove up on Long Island and Nantasket Hill in a few hours, when a cannon-shot from Long Island announced to the enemy our design.

Soon after, a signal was made for the whole fleet, consisting of eight ships, two snows, two brigs, and one schooner, to unmoor and get under weigh. The Commodore Banks bore our fire, and returned it with spirit, till a shot from Long Island pierced the upper works of his ship, when he immediately unmoored or cut his cables, and got under sail, and happy for him that he did so, for in a small space of time afterwards, a shell from our works fell into the very spot he had but just before quitted.

Unhappily, our cannon did not arrive at Pettick’s Island and Nantasket as soon as might have been wished, but the fire from the latter place, being properly pointed against the commodore’s ship, which came to in the Light House channel, is apprehended to have done considerable execution. However, the enemy were compelled once more to make a disgraceful precipitate flight; and we have it now in our power to congratulate our friends on our being in full possession of the lowest harbor of Boston; and, had the wind been to the eastward, we are confident we should have had the much greater pleasure of giving them joy on our being in the possession of many of the enemy’s ships. Through Divine Providence, not one of our men were hurt. — Pennsylvania Journal (June 26, 1776).

June 12 — Virginia Declaration of Rights

Williamsburg, Virginia — The Virginia Convention adopted the Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason. He based it on long-established English political precepts found in the Magna Carta, the Petition of Rights, and the Bill of Rights, all of which are part of the British Constitution.

AHC Notes

• George Mason (1725–1788) — Mason was a Virginia politician and delegate to the Constitutional Convention (1787) who refused to sign the United States Constitution because it did not include a Bill of Rights and contained compromises on slavery. As a leading Anti-Federalist, Mason’s Objections to the Federal Constitution argued for Popular Sovereignty and individual liberties. His arguments influenced the adoption of the Bill of Rights, shaping the nation’s commitment to personal freedom and limited government.
• British Constitution — A collection of laws, customs, and legal precedents that were established over 500 years. The Constitution was significantly affected by the Glorious Revolution, which led to the addition of the English Bill of Rights. Following the French and Indian War, the ideology of the American Revolution developed, based on principles found in the British Constitution.
• English Bill of Rights (1689)  — The English Bill of Rights was designed to control the power of the monarchy and make it subject to the laws of Parliament. It was the product of the Glorious Revolution, which permanently established Parliament’s ruling power.

June 13 — General John Sullivan decided to withdraw from Canada and return to American soil.

June 13 — American artillery led by General Benjamin Lincoln drove HMS Renown from Boston Harbor, finally breaking the British blockade there.

AHC Notes

• Benjamin Lincoln (1733–1810) — Lincoln was an officer in the Continental Army who commanded forces at Saratoga, suffered a major wound, and later led the American right wing at Yorktown, where he accepted the British surrender. Appointed Secretary of War in 1781, he also helped suppress Shays’ Rebellion and supported the ratification of the United States Constitution.

June 13 — Board of War Established

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Congress officially established the five-member Board of War and Ordnance to oversee the administration of the Continental Army, along with the Department of Army Headquarters.

AHC Notes

• Board of War — A wartime body created by Congress to help manage military affairs during the American Revolutionary War. Congress used it to keep records on officers, arms, ammunition, stores, dispatches, money, troop preparations, prisoners of war, and military paperwork. The board also revised the Articles of War in 1776. After several reorganizations and growing concerns about efficiency, Congress replaced it with the Office of the Secretary of War on February 7, 1781.

June 14 — General Guy Carleton advanced to Three Rivers with 8,000 soldiers under General John Burgoyne and General Friedrich von Riedesel.

AHC Notes

• Guy Carleton (1724–1808) — Carleton was a prominent British officer and politician during the 18th Century. He is most famous in America for being the Governor of Quebec during the American Revolutionary War and commanding British forces during the Invasion of Quebec (1775–1776).
• John Burgoyne (1722–1792) — A General in the British army during the American Revolutionary War. He is most well-known for leading a failed invasion of the Hudson River Valley in 1777 and his surrender at Saratoga.
• Friedrich von Riedesel (1730–1800) — Riedesel was a soldier who led Hessian troops in support of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. Riedesel is most famous for his participation in the failed Saratoga Campaign of 1777.

June 14 — American Retreat from Canada Begins

Sorel, Quebec — General John Sullivan started loading men and supplies at Sorel to return to Crown Point, New York. This marked the end of the Invasion of Quebec and the start of the American Retreat from Canada.

June 14 — Boston Harbor Reopens

Boston, Massachusetts — It is now certain that there is not a ministerial troop in all New England, except such as are prisoners; nor is there a ministerial ship in any harbor in New England. And it is worthy of special notice that the fourteenth day of June, 1774, was the last day allowed for trading vessels to leave or enter the port of Boston, through the cruelty of a British act of Parliament; and that the fourteenth of June, 1776, through the blessings of God upon the operations of a much injm-ed and oppressed people, is the last day for British men-of-war, or ministerial vessels, to remain or enter witliin the said port, but as American prizes. Thus has Providence retaliated. — New York Packet (June 27, 1776).

June 16 — Arnold’s Rear Guard Action at Chambly

Chambly, Quebec — General Benedict Arnold and his men joined General John Sullivan at Fort St. John on June 16. As the retreat continued, Arnold commanded the rear guard. At Chambly, Arnold and his men burned boats and buildings to slow the British advance. Arnold boarded the last boat leaving Fort St. John, barely escaping the British.

June 16 — General Henry Clinton ordered his men to wade across Breach Inlet, at the north end of Sullivan’s Island, and attack the American defenses. The operation failed when the British discovered the water was too deep to wade through in certain areas.

June 16 — A small group of British sailors from the HMS Ranger deserted and made their way to Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. They informed Colonel William Thompson that Clinton had roughly 2,800 troops on Long Island.

June 16 — An American privateer, Polly, under the command of Captain Francis Morgan, tried to pass through the British fleet and make its way to Charleston Harbor. The ship was carrying military supplies and provisions for the American forces in Charleston. When Polly ran aground at Stono Creek, the crew scuttled and abandoned it. That night, British troops from the HMS Bristol were sent to investigate the ship and refloat it. They found there was too much water in the old, so they set Polly on fire, and it exploded.

June 16 — Captain Seth Harding, commanding a squadron consisting of the Lee, Franklin, Lynch, Warren, and Defense, captured the British transports HMS George and HMS Arabella in Boston Harbor. The British ships, partly manned by soldiers of the 71st Highlanders, resisted and surrendered only after losing 12 killed and 13 wounded. Among the 170 British captives taken was Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell. The Americans sustained nine wounded.

June 17 — Philadelphia Loyalists Threatened

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — A correspondent in Philadelphia, who signs himself a “determined independent,” says: ” The mild treatment which the Tories have met with, has only encouraged them in their disaffection, and, until an example is made of some of them, we shall always be exposed to private domestic dangers. Necessity, when self-preservation is the object, justifies severity. We have reasoned, we have pleaded with these men long enough, and all will not do. It signifies nothing meddling with the little and ignorant ones — their greatest error is want of knowledge; but I would begin with the heads and chiefs of them. It is time, it is high time to do it, if we mean to live in safety. Matters are ripening very fast, and either an independence must be declared, by which we can legally punish the traitors, or the associators must, in my opinion, be obliged to declare martial law for their own protection. — Constitutional Gazette (June 19, 1776).

June 17 — Congress was stunned by news of the defeat at Three Rivers and authorized General Horatio Gates to replace General John Sullivan as commander of the Northern Army.

AHC Notes

• Horatio Gates (1727–1806) — Gates was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He led American forces to victory at Saratoga but failed at Camden. He was also involved in the Conway Cabal, a plot against George Washington, and the Newburgh Conspiracy against Congress.

June 17 — Montreal was reoccupied by British forces under General Guy Carleton, who started to make preparations to invade northern New York.

June 18 — The Provincial Congress of New York held a dinner with General George Washington, along with his officers and staff.

June 19 — General Henry Clinton sent troops forward to Breach Inlet, where they witnessed American reinforcements arriving on Sullivan’s Island. That night, the Americans fired on the British, forcing them to withdraw.

June 20 — American forces under Colonel Rufus Putnam started construction of Fort Washington on Manhattan’s northern end. Although it was very large, it remained an open earthwork lacking a palisade, barracks, water supply, or bomb-proof magazines. Its sole benefit was that it was 230 feet above sea level and on the Hudson River. Americans hoped it would keep British ships from sailing up the Hudson River toward Albany, New York.

AHC Notes

• Rufus Putnam (1738–1824) — Putnam was an engineer and soldier who played a leading role in the settlement of the Northwest Territory. During the American Revolutionary War, he helped design fortifications and served in several campaigns in the Northern Theater. Following the war, he co-founded the Ohio Company, led the first settlement at Marietta, negotiated with Native American Indian tribes, and served as surveyor general. His work shaped early Westward Expansion and Ohio’s development.

June 21 — The New Jersey Provincial Congress deposed and arrested Royal Governor William Franklin — Benjamin Franklin’s son — and started drafting a state constitution. New Jersey also sent a new delegation to the Continental Congress with instructions to support any resolution declaring independence, establishing a confederation, and ratifying treaties with foreign powers.

AHC Notes

• William Franklin (1731–1813) — Franklin was the son of Benjamin Franklin and the last Royal Governor of the Province of New Jersey. By remaining loyal to Britain, he became estranged from his father. Franklin was removed from office and imprisoned. Following his release, he went to New York City, where he organized the Board of Associated Loyalists. Following the war, he moved to England, where he received a pension from the British government.

June 21 — American forces at Fort Moultrie fired on the HMS Lady William and other British ships in Charleston Harbor. Over the next few days, the British fired on Sullivan’s Island, but did no damage.

June 23 — Thomas Jefferson wrote a draft of a state constitution for consideration by the Virginia Convention.

June 24 — Action at Isle aux Nois

Isle Aux Nois, Quebec — American forces under General John Sullivan and General Benedict Arnold could not contain the British advance guard at Ile aux Noix and Sorel, Quebec. Sullivan ordered an immediate withdrawal to Crown Point, New York.

June 24 — After Governor John Rutledge of South Carolina offered a reward to anyone who could capture a British soldier from Long Island, three of Colonel William Thompson’s men tried to earn it. Due to confusion, two of them fired on the third, who had set up an ambush. The third man was wounded. The three of them returned to Sullivan’s Island.

June 25 — A British patrol discovered the tracks of the three men and followed them. When they were in range of the guns on Sullivan’s Island, the Americans opened fire. 

• The British fell back, but returned fire. 
• American troops moved out and came within 200 yards of the British. 
• The two sides continued firing on each other, and the British suffered casualties. 
• The British were reinforced with two six-pound cannons and built an artillery battery.
• Once the battery was built, more guns were added.
• From this position on the beach, the British fired on Sullivan’s Island.

The Americans responded by digging trenches and building their own batteries. However, the location of the British battery allowed them to observe American movements, and General Clinton came to the conclusion that there was a “narrow channel uncovered and unprotected” that would allow him to “attempt a landing without a manifest sacrifice” and attack Sullivan’s Island with his ground forces.

June 26 — At Seneca, near present-day Clemson, South Carolina, Captain James McCall led a small contingent of 30 men to the Cherokee towns on a peace mission. The Americans were ambushed and suffered casualties. McCall was taken as a prisoner but later escaped.

June 27 — British forces at the beach battery on Long Island, across from Sullivan’s Island, ambushed a group of Catawba warriors who were led by Captain Samuel Boykin. Captain William Harrington said, “…the enemy began to fire, and aimed their shot directly at the Indians, who caused us to laugh heartily by their running and tumbling, several of them whooping and firing their muskets over their shoulders backward. I confess, though the bullets poured around me, I laughed my inclination.”

June 28 — The Hickey Plot

New York City, New York — American soldier Thomas Hickey, a former member of General George Washington’s bodyguard, was publicly hanged in New York for conspiring to betray Washington to the British. The execution was attended by 20,000 people.

The following article appeared in the New York Packet on June 13, 1776:

Since Friday last, a most barbarous and infernal plot has been discovered among the Tories in New York. Two of General Washington’s guards are concerned; a third, whom they tempted to join them, made the first discovery. The general report of their design is as follows: upon the arrival of the British troops, they were to murder all the staff officers, blow up the magazines, and secure the passes of the town. 

Gilbert Forbes, a gunsmith in the Broadway, was taken between two and three o’clock on Saturday morning and carried before our Congress, who were then sitting. He refused to make any discovery, upon which he was sent to jail. 

The Reverend Mr. Livingston went to see him early in the morning and told him he was very sorry to find he had been concerned, that his time was very short, not having above three days to live, and advised him to prepare himself. This had the desired effect, and he requested to be carried before the Congress again, promising to discover all he knew. Several have been since taken, between twenty and thirty, among them the major. They are all now in confinement. Their party, it is said, consisted of about five hundred.

Washington himself wrote a letter to the Continental Congress on June 28 that said:

The plot had been communicated to some of the army, and part of my guard engaged in it. T___ H___ one of them, has been tried, and, by the unanimous opinion of a court-martial, is sentenced to die, having enlisted himself and engaged others. The sentence, by the advice of the whole council of general officers, will be put in execution to-day, at eleven o’clock. The others are not tried. I am hopeful this example will produce many salutary consequences, and deter others from entering into the like traitorous practices

On July 2, 1776, the Pennsylvania Event Post reported:

This forenoon, was executed in a field between the Colonels McDougall and Huntington’s camp, near the Bowry-lane, New York, in the presence of near twenty thousand spectators, a soldier belonging to His Excellency General Washington’s guards, for mutiny and conspiracy; being one of those who formed, and was soon to have put in execution, that horrid plot of assassinating the staff officers, blowing up the magazines and securing the passes of the town, on the arrival of the hungry ministerial myrmidons. It is hoped the remainder of those miscreants, now in our possession, will meet with a punishment adequate to their crimes.

June 28 — Jefferson’s Draft of the Declaration of Independence

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Thomas Jefferson submitted his draft of the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress for consideration after slight alterations suggested by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin.

June 28 — The Maryland Convention unanimously authorized its delegates at the Continental Congress to vote for independence.

June 28 — Battle of Sullivan’s Island

Charleston, South Carolina — After various delays due to a sandbar and unfavorable tidal conditions, British naval forces under Commodore Peter Parker started their attack on Charleston, which is known as the Battle of Sullivan’s Island.

They first engaged a small American garrison under Colonel William Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island in the harbor. Parker drew up a double line of eight warships, mounting 260 guns, and bombarded the fort for 10 hours. However, the unique properties of the palmetto logs enabled them to absorb the British cannon shot with virtually no harm to the defenders. When a lucky shot brought down the fort’s flagstaff, Sergeant William Jasper bravely mounted the parapet under fire and re-raised the flag. 

Moultrie’s batteries, meanwhile, riddled the commodore’s flagship, HMS Bristol. This vessel was hit no less than 70 times; its captain was killed, and Parker was wounded. Worse, when the British attempted to slip three frigates around the fort to enfilade it, they grounded in shoal waters. The 20-gun HMS Actaeon was damaged and burned by its crew. 

Around 2:00, General Clinton tried to send troops across Breach Inlet, under the protection of the HMS Lady William and the HMS Ranger; however, Clinton did not have enough boats to transport all of his men. Most of the British troops were stranded on the beach and fired on Fort Moultrie from there.

By 9:00 p.m., Parker decided to withdraw. British casualties were 64 killed and 161 wounded. American casualties were 17 dead and 20 wounded. Among the British wounded was William Campbell, the former Royal Governor of South Carolina. 

Moultrie’s leadership during the battle helps him rise to prominence as a national hero. The American victory secured Charleston for the next two-and-a-half years.

The next morning, June 29, the troops on the beach at Long Island tried to cross Breach Inlet. Accounts of what happened are mixed. Most British reports indicate the crossing was abandoned; however, it is most likely the British tried to cross in boats, but turned back due to heavy fire from the Americans at Fort Moultrie.

June 29 — A large expedition led by Admiral Molyneux Shuldham and General William Howe anchored off Sandy Hook, New York, signaling the start of British offensive operations against New York.

AHC Notes

• William Howe (1729–1814) — A veteran of the French and Indian War, Howe was a cautious yet skilled British officer. He played a central role early in the war, leading British forces during the Siege of Boston, the New York Campaign, the New Jersey Campaign, and the Philadelphia Campaign. Despite notable victories, his strategic hesitations, logistical challenges, and flawed leadership hindered British success and led to his removal.

June 29 — British naval vessels chased the American ship Nancy off Cape May, New Jersey, until it grounded. Captain Lambert Wickes then arrived to assist and ordered gunpowder supplies opened and the ship set afire. The crew fled as the British boarded the burning vessel, which exploded and killed several sailors. The American militia then gathered onshore and fired on the survivors, who fled.